Campus crime drops, officials cite new plans
Noah Cohen
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: News
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Total criminal offenses reported under the federal Jeanne Clery Act dropped 4.8 percent across all three of Drexel University's campuses from 2005 to 2006, according to The Triangle's analysis of Drexel's crime statistics released Oct. 11.
The University City Main Campus had the greatest declines with a 21.2 percent decline in burglary and a 23 percent drop in robberies.
Robbery reported at "on-campus" locations dropped from five cases in 2005 to three cases in 2006, and total robbery cases on the main campus, including areas surrounding the University City campus dropped from 30 to 23 cases in 2006, according to The Triangle's analysis.
University officials said they were pleased with the declines.
Frederick Carbonara, director of public safety, said his department took on several new initiatives to drive down crime in 2006, including attending the Philadelphia Police Department's CompStat meeting, expanding communication with area law enforcement and bringing new training programs to DPS officers.
CompStat is a program used by numerous law enforcement agencies, including the New York City and Los Angeles Police Departments, to analyze data and plan crime prevention tactics.
The program has been credited with driving down crime rates through increased police accountability, and won an "Innovation in Government" award in 1996 from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Carbonara also pointed to the use of a weekly publication called "The Security Post" to keep DPS officers informed of ongoing crime patterns and wanted suspects, and he said additional patrols were added.
While Carbonara said he was pleased with the current statistics, he said he is focused on seeing a crime reduction in the off-campus areas known as the "extended patrol area."
The majority of Drexel's recent robberies occur in what federal law defines as "public property," which includes any "…throughout fares, streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities, that is within the campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus," according to the Department of Public Safety.
The University City Main Campus had the greatest declines with a 21.2 percent decline in burglary and a 23 percent drop in robberies.
Robbery reported at "on-campus" locations dropped from five cases in 2005 to three cases in 2006, and total robbery cases on the main campus, including areas surrounding the University City campus dropped from 30 to 23 cases in 2006, according to The Triangle's analysis.
University officials said they were pleased with the declines.
Frederick Carbonara, director of public safety, said his department took on several new initiatives to drive down crime in 2006, including attending the Philadelphia Police Department's CompStat meeting, expanding communication with area law enforcement and bringing new training programs to DPS officers.
CompStat is a program used by numerous law enforcement agencies, including the New York City and Los Angeles Police Departments, to analyze data and plan crime prevention tactics.
The program has been credited with driving down crime rates through increased police accountability, and won an "Innovation in Government" award in 1996 from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.
Carbonara also pointed to the use of a weekly publication called "The Security Post" to keep DPS officers informed of ongoing crime patterns and wanted suspects, and he said additional patrols were added.
While Carbonara said he was pleased with the current statistics, he said he is focused on seeing a crime reduction in the off-campus areas known as the "extended patrol area."
The majority of Drexel's recent robberies occur in what federal law defines as "public property," which includes any "…throughout fares, streets, sidewalks, and parking facilities, that is within the campus, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus," according to the Department of Public Safety.
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